Giving Back

We understand how integral community is to creating a positive environment, so we regularly support organizations that go above and beyond in helping build a strong community. Each month, one of our employees chooses a charity they would like to support, and we donate a percentage of our profits to that charity for each closed loan that month.

In June 2017, we gave $800 to the Colorado Colorectal Screening Program (CCSP). June was Matt Hardy's month to choose a charity. This one hit close to home for Matt.

His dad was diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2006 and passed away in 2007 from the disease. He was relatively young (59), but if he had a screening at the age of 50 like it’s recommended, most likely the doctors would have caught something.

CCSP is focused on restoring endoscopic screening throughout Colorado. It partners with federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, and other safety net clinics to provide no cost patient navigation services for colorectal screening to the medicall underserved. CCSP is a key aspect of a plan to achieve the Colorado Year 2018 colorectal screening goal of increasing screening rates to 80% by 2018, consistent with national standards set forth by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.

In May 2017, we gave $580 to Colorado Horse Field Rescue Program. May was Shari Moran's month to choose a charity - another opportunity to give to our four-legged friends!

I think this is an awesome one. Her hope is to start volunteering here, and then adopting two of the companion horses. She has her eye on Dreamer and Black Jack :) She may foster as well as she LOVES horses and has the set up for them to care for them.

In April 2017, we gave $400 to The National Mill Dog Rescue. The team and I have all agreed to mix things up a bit with this donation and give back to our four legged friends….our dogs. It just so happens that we are all dog owners and share the same passion for the love and protection of our pets. Surprisingly, not only has this discussion made us realize we are all dog owners, but many of us here are rescuers as well.

Horribly, 4 to 5 million puppies die globally every year, that's roughly 11,000 every day, and roughly 1 dog dies in a Puppy Mill every 8 seconds. Puppy Mills are factory-style breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs. Animals from Puppy Mills are housed in shockingly poor conditions with improper medical care, and are often very sick and behaviorally troubled as a result. The moms of these puppies are kept in cages to be bred over and over for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever joining a family. When the mothers are no longer profitable, breeding dogs are simply discarded—either killed, abandoned or sold at auction.

For this reason, we have decided to use this opportunity to donate to The National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR). The NMDR has pledged to put an end to the cruelty of commercial dog breeding known as Dog Mills. NMDR has taken on a national approach to their rescue and adoption efforts and they have rescued and placed more than 11,860 dogs in homes since 2007. NMDR works solely on the contributions from generous donors such as ourselves which is why this is such a tremendous opportunity.

In March 2017, we gave $560 to Wonder Walkers (Team) - Race for the Cure. This organization was chosen by Connie Oller.

"All of us have had cancer come into our lives. It may be ourselves, family, friends, fellow co-workers or clients. There are many types, the one that has affected me most is breast cancer. My mom, diagnosed in 1998, will be a 19 year survivor of breast cancer this July. After being diagnosed, going through surgery in August and chemotherapy, she was determined to walk in the Race for the Cure in September. She created her Komen Race for the Cure Team, Wonder Walkers, and has been involved in every race since. I am extremely proud of my momand grateful to call her a survivor."

In February 2017, we gave $410 to Sox Place. This organization was chosen by Kim Hajek.

"I was first introduced to Sox Place through Women’s Council of Realtors, they were chosen to be one of the charities we give to. The story for Sox Place warms my heart, it was started by a father and son - they began their cause by handing out new sox to street youth. I’ve visited Sox Place and have donated clothes, blankets and other misc items.

Sox Place was started in 2002 by father-son team, Doyle and Jordan Robinson. Doyle began his ministry by handing out socks to street youth on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. He was soon given the street name “Sox” and opened up a daytime youth drop-in center shortly after. They have been open for twelve years and continue to grow every year. They are only able to continue to serve our youth and to keep their doors open with the help of donations like this.

In January 2017, we gave $390 to Friends of Saint Andrews Shelter put on by the Queen of Peace Catholic Church. This organization was chosen by Andrea Jarka.

Once again, I find that I could do no better job of outlining our charitable gift than the person choosing the charity: Friends of Saint Andrews just celebrated their 30th anniversary serving the community of Aurora. They provide a hot lunch every day and food baskets for those in need. Their simple goal is to give people food to eat, drink, warmth and caring. They serve over 30,000 people a year, just through donations from the church and community.

Friends of Saint Andrew began as the brainchild of a small group of Queen of Peace parishioners and the Pastor sometime during the fall of 1986. Initially, this group saw the need for homeless persons to have a place to get in out of the elements, have a cup of coffee and a pastry and have access to newspapers for job hunting; they decided to lend a helping hand by creating our parish outreach ministry. After a few short years, this vision blossomed into much more than its humble beginnings.

In December 2016, we gave $460 to Parkinson Association of the Rockies. This organization was chosen by Gail Smilanich.

As is so often the case, the person choosing has done a better job than I could do of explaining the cause and why it’s important to them: The most recent newsletter I received speak to how they support the many individuals and families impacted by this dreadful disease, it also has their info in case you need it Noel, I did not know how that worked. I am thrilled that we can donate to this wonderful organization and to be a part of 8z Mortgage!

The Parkinson Association of the Rockies enhances the quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s disease through education, research, awareness and support for those with the disease, their families, and the community. The Parkinson Association provided more services in 2016 than ever before. This translates into more and more Coloradans living well and finding greater enjoyment in life through learning how to thrive with this disease.

In November 2016, we gave $420 to Crossroads Community Church in reference to The Winter Shelter. This organization was chosen by Milene Andersen.

It looks like another amazing cause, and thanks to Milene for what she’s doing with her hands-on efforts here. I really like the way she wrote it all up below so I’m letting you know why she chose this one in her own words:

"Crossroads Community Church in Parker is a partner working with the Winter Shelter Network. What this network does, is they partner with different churches in the Douglas County area to host an evening/overnight stay for single mothers and children that are homeless. We have several groups that participate to help with supplies, food, clean up and set up and a group that will actually stay overnight at the church with these guests that get registered to stay. I am the lead for the evening host group. Our group will basically help with children and entertain guests that are able to come. We eat with them, talk to them, play games just making the environment a little more comfortable. We have the most interaction with the guests."

In October 2016, we gave $560 to Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center which is a part of United Way of Larimer County. This organization was chosen by Blair Fajkowski. This is a great cause, and Blair is passionate about this program.

Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a nonprofit organization that is devoted to the rehabilitation and release of orphaned, injured and sick wildlife. They are the largest wildlife rehabilitation center of this kind in Colorado, each year treating approximately 2,500 mammals, birds, and waterfowl representing nearly 200 different wildlife species.

Their Mission: Rehabilitate sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife for release into appropriate habitats. Greenwood also strives to educate the public, emphasizing humane solutions to human/wildlife interactions.

In September 2016, we gave $560 to WomenGive which is a part of United Way of Larimer County. This organization was chosen by Joe Whitlock, with the help of his 8z team in Loveland.

WomenGive was started in Larimer County in 2006 by a group of passionate and caring women who wanted to create an opportunity for women in our community to come together to help other women. Today, WomenGive is comprised of a dynamic network of more than 350 members who use their financial resources to help women in Larimer County achieve economic self-sufficiency.

At its core, WomenGive provides support and financial assistance in the form of childcare scholarships as part of United Way of Larimer County’s efforts to cut poverty in half by 2025.

In August 2016, we gave $590 to Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado. This organization was chosen by Zack Donahue to help anyone who is struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide.

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado (SPCC) was formed in 1999, when concerned citizens set out to create a statewide agency with the purpose of preventing suicide and creating a resource network for those who were working to prevent suicide around the state.

Today, SPCC’s membership of concerned agencies, organizations and individuals who are working in the areas of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention has statewide reach.

In July 2016, we gave $420 to Castle Rock Youth Cycling Club. This organization was chosen by Dave Bliesmer because he finds a personal interest in the cause, and thinks it is great that organizations like this can still engage kids that may not have the option to engage sports through the traditional school setting.

The organization is a 501(c)3 that focuses on providing cycling teams for youth that are not necessarily engaged in the traditional team sports sanctioned through the community and school district. They have kids engaged with mountain biking and road biking, and work to position the older kids as mentors for the younger kids for long term leadership skills and a healthy lifestyle.

We love the localness of this, and it is something that is near and dear to Dave’s heart. That is awesome. Dave has chosen to match 8z Mortgage’s donation so the Caste Rock Youth Cycling Club will be very happy in August here.

In June 2016, we gave $490 to The Matthews House. This organization was chosen by Michelle Hite because she cares deeply about children growing up with the resources they need to be happy, healthy and educated.

The Matthews House is an organization that empowers young adults and families in transition to navigate difficulties on the road to self-sufficiency. Many of the individuals in their program are or have been part of the human services, foster care, and/or justice system. The Matthews House focuses on five main areas to help these youth and families develop the skills and knowledge to move into and maintain an independent living situation. These areas are: